I’m sure we’ve all used Google Maps or Google Earth by now, or maybe your a Mapquest person, but either way, I’m sure you’ve seen the satellite views that these mapping platforms have to offer.

Have you ever used Google Maps to examine what once was there? I do for fun, it’s interesting and often revealing.

No, I don’t mean adjusting the slider bar to see the before and after of storm aftermath, although that is a fantastic way to use this technology and to grasp the devastation of a storm on a geographic level.

You can see the remains of the mansion in the grass! Now, I’ve been here in person, and there is no evidence above ground of the mansion. No foundation stones, nothing. The grass grows lushly, feeding off of whatever fill was used way back when. Even though it was a number of years ago now, that fill is still newer than the surrounding dirt and it is less compacted as well. You can easily see rooms of the mansion, from the burn pattern in the grass, suggesting that the foundation stones were left in place and the grass doesn’t have as much dirt to root into. Shallower roots allows for more burning.

My second example comes from Newport, RI on the Salve Regina Campus.

A chapel for Salve Regina University now stands on this spot.

Where now stands a chapel, once stood a greenhouse that was surrounded by a brick wall. A likely brick pathway winded its way into the opening between the walls. You can clearly see the burn marks in the grass where the remains of the wall and path sit just below the ground’s surface.

What interesting things have you found while exploring satellite images?

Stolen documents return to the Maryland Historical Society: These documents were stolen by Barry Landau and his assistant, John Savedoff. The two stole documents from institutions up and down the East Coast…more than 10,000 items. The return of these documents is just part of the next step that the FBI and NARA are taking to get all of these documents (once evidence in the case against Landau and Savedoff) back to their rightful repositories.

Antique home reveals its past one shoe, or hoe or bowl at a time: Okay, so this one is nearly two weeks old, but it was just sent to me, and I thought it such a fabulous historic preservation success story that I had to share. Saved 2 weeks before it was set to be demolished back in 2002, this house from the mid-1700s is being restored for the Glocester Heritage Society in Rhode Island. They hold a 99-year-lease on the property, which is owned by the Chepachet Cemetery Association, which owns a cemetery next door (another great layer of history if you ask me). The restoration has revealed artifacts in the floors and walls of this house. I definitely recommend you read the whole article for the rest of the story.

Bronze Age boat reconstruction is altering archaeologists’ view of era: This is a neat example of experimental archaeology, where archaeologist Robert Van de Noort teamed up with shipwright Brian Cumby and the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth to take a full-size replica of a Bronze Age boat out on the water. They tested to see how it maneuvered and to gain an appreciation for those who lived and traveled this way in the Bronze Age.

‘World’s Oldest Torah’ scroll found in Italy: This is an example of something “found in collections” also known as an FIC. In this case, the Torah was known about, rather than something never accessioned, but it had been misidentified and as a result had been thought to be much newer than it actually was. Just how old is it? Find out by reading the article.

Ancient discovery set to rewrite Australian history: It reads like a treasure hunt, there’s even a map with an X on it! Coins found at that X 70 years ago (then forgotten about for decades) could prove that people made it to Australia way before James Cook landed in 1770.

New Study Finds That King Richard III Was Buried in a Hurry: New information about the discovery of his skeleton under a parking lot reveals that his grave was too small, his hands may have been tied together, and that he may have died in “violent humiliation”. Two groups now want to give him a proper burial.

Meet London’s Master Architects in Jell-o: Every once in a while I choose to share a somewhat silly story that is still somewhat pertinent and rather neat. It has “Architects” in the title, that’s my justification this week. There is also a neat model of St. Paul’s Cathedral pictured in the article, made of orange Jello.

I sometimes look down when I walk outside. It’s not because I don’t want to make eye contact with people or have to watch where I walk out of fear of falling down. I just don’t want to miss anything neat that’s on the ground.

This is one of the things I’ve found. I have no idea what it is, so that’s why it’s just a “thing”. I found it by some trees, partially in the dirt at Goddard Park, home to a few buildings that I’ve previously blogged about.

From first glance it looks like a cap of something.

Something metallic and grooved, see the rust at the top of this thing?

Also, it’s made of sand, or something very sand-like. The sand part doesn’t surprise me, Goddard Park’s northern border is a beach and the dirt itself is very sandy.

I have no idea what this is, do you? Any idea on what it could have fit on or been used for?

Like this:

This is actually a roundup of the last two weeks of interesting preservation/cemetery/architecture/archaeology/etc news articles.

Hangers Help Archives Director Identify Graves: Who knew a pair of metal clothes hangers could help locate graves and determine gender? Read the article for more info on this dowsing technique, and do let me know if you’ve ever tried it.

Builders Bulldoze Big Mayan Pyramid In Belize: Sadly, you read that right. SERIOUSLY?!? There are so many things wrong with this, and there is no way that ignorance on the builder’s part can be claimed-it was one of the largest pyramids in Belize. It’s difficult to look at this loss in any way but shock, but some researchers are trying to find a silver lining. Head to the end of the article to see what it is.

Stunning Byzantine Mosaic Uncovered in Israel: The mosaic was a floor of a public building, a building that has no religious affiliation where nearby buildings displayed elements of Christianity. Archaeologists are still unsure what the purpose of this building was. They also found pools and piping in front of the building; their purpose is also unknown.

Jensen-Byrd building will be renovated by WSU Spokane: Originally the building was going to be torn down and a new one built to house students. Opponents to that plan successfully challenged the decision saying it ignored the area’s historic preservation guidelines, and that renovating the building would have greater economic benefits for the area. WSU listened (yay!) and now the building will be renovated instead.

This post is the eighth and final in my Place Bucket List series inspired by Adventures in Preservation, which asked readers what buildings were on our bucket lists.

*Note: The regions I have given these states in this and upcoming posts are how I have come to rationalize them for this purpose (and to prevent any one post from being too long), not necessarily how these regions are defined by any government entity.

North Dakota:

Geographical Center of North America, Rugby, ND

International Peace Garden

Little Missouri National Grasslands

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

South Dakota:

Mt. Rushmore

Badlands National Park

Corn Palace

Crazy Horse Memorial

Custer State Park

Montana:

Pictograph Cave State Park

Granite Ghost Town State Park

Helena

Missoula

Glacier National Park

Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park

Gallatin National Forest

Kansas:

Topeka

Nicodemus National Historic Site

4-State Lookout

Abilene

Dodge City

Garden of Eden

Geographic Center of 48 Contiguous States

World’s Largest Ball of Twine

Yellow Brick Road

Nebraska:

Carhenge

Lincoln

Omaha

Pony Express Station

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Oklahoma:

426 Miles of Route 66

Tulsa

Mount Olivet Cemetery

Oklahoma City

Sequoyah’s Cabin

Wyoming:

Jackson Hole

Yellowstone National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Devils Tower National Monument

Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Cody

Ten Sleep

Colorado:

Denver

Rocky Mountain National Park

Mesa Verde National Park

Rimrock Drive

Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour

Crested Butte

Idaho:

Boise

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

Old Mission State Park

Idaho Falls

Think I missed something? It’s definitely possible, so let me know. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Long Hidden, Vatican Painting Linked to Native Americans: This is a case of what happens when a painting completed in 1494 gets cleaned as part of the restoration process. Very few people ever saw this aspect of the painting before as the area it was located in was closed off, unused, from 1503 to 1899.

The Renaissance of a 1920s Abandoned Parisian Cinema: A great article on the restoration of a small theater. Wonderful to see a group of people come together to save this building and get it back up and running. There are pictures in the article too, so go check them out, they’re awesome.

What a ‘Modernized’ Wrigley Field Might Look Like: If you aren’t a baseball person, you might not know that Wrigley Field is home to the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t won a World Series since 1908. They haven’t been to the World Series since 1945. Their last winning season was 2009, when they went 83 and 78. That was the year that the team came under new ownership, and recently the owner has been calling for some upgrades around the ballpark, which has been home to the team since 1916. He’s even said that if he doesn’t get some upgrades he will consider moving the team, which has always been based in Chicago. This article shows what some of the changes could look like, and I don’t think they’re all that bad. Much of the stadium will retain its charm, and it is certainly preferable over leaving Wrigley entirely, which would definitely leave the structure in danger of meeting its destruction.

How Historic Architecture Can Anchor Economic Development: Sometimes I bookmark an article with an interesting title early on in the week because it seems like it would be a good fit for Shouldn’t Miss News. It’s also a reminder to me to actually read the article that I didn’t have time for when I found it. This is one of those articles and I was so happy to see that it was about Providence, RI, which I live about 20 minutes away from. Providence is such a good example to use and it has changed radically over the last decade or so. It’s a happening place (with wonderful food trucks and a good historic preservation scene too). Sadly, right now RI doesn’t have Historic Tax Credits, which is also addressed in the article.

This post is the seventh in my Place Bucket List series inspired by Adventures in Preservation, which asked readers what buildings were on our bucket lists.

*Note: The regions I have given these states in this and upcoming posts are how I have come to rationalize them for this purpose (and to prevent any one post from being too long), not necessarily how these regions are defined by any government entity.

Washington:

Spokane

Mount Rainier National Park

Seattle

Oregon:

Crater Lake National Park

A prune ranch

National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

Tamastslikt Cultural Institute

Portland

California:

Hollywood

Cannery Row

Alcatraz

San Diego

Yosemite National Park

Sacramento

Hawaii:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Pearl Harbor

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl

Kaunolu Village

Hawaii overall (after all, it is Hawaii)

Alaska:

Mt. McKinley

Crow Creek Mine

Sitka National Historical Park

Think I missed something? Let me know. I feel like Washington and Alaska are lacking, but I don’t know enough about them to add more.

MoMA: Expanding at all costs?: I recently included an article about the social media campaign to find other ways for MoMA to expand without demolishing the neighboring former American Folk Art Museum building. This article looks at the philosophy behind MoMA’s previous and future expansions and what that means for preservation. Well worth the read.

Ancient Europeans mysteriously vanished 4,500 years ago: DNA research suggests that there was a dramatic shift in the DNA makeup of Europeans at this time, thus one group of people suddenly replaced the other. The cause of this radical shift is unknown, but you can read the article for a couple of theories that could be the explanation.

Agritourism: Where the farm and vacationers meet: A look at the tourism industry that involves going to working farms, ranches, and wineries. Some of these opportunities have been around for years, but it’s really catching on now. You can find some statistics about it in this article.

Dismantling History: A Reflection on Salvage: A wonderful blog post from the National Trust for Historic Preservation on architectural salvage written by someone who does the salvage work as well as restoration projects using those materials.

“Hear My Voice”: Smithsonian Identifies 130-Year-Old Recording as Alexander Graham Bell’s Voice: You likely have heard about this by now from one of the many news pieces written about this awesome discovery this week. This particular article comes from the Smithsonian itself where the disc that contained Bell’s voice is held and finally heard thanks to a collaborative project with partners Lawrence Berkeley National Library and the Library of Congress. So neat that we now have the technology to make hearing these recordings possible again.

After some contemplation, I’ve changed the tagline of this blog from “Preserving places and the communities that love them” to “Presenting preservation-related issues in an approachable way” to better reflect what this blog is about.